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Will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), better known as will.i.am, is an Jamaican-American singer and rapper who is one of founding members of the The Black Eyed Peas, alongside with his best friend Taboo and Apl.de.ap. He produced and wrote the majority of The Black Eyed Peas' musics, as well as such artists like Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Cheryl Cole, Justin Timberlake, and others. Early Life Will.i.am was born to William Adams Sr. and his wife Debra on East Los Angeles, California. However, he never met his father. Growing up without a father, her mother supported his musical career by sending him to school in Pacific Palisades. In High School, he used to attend raves, which is the reason he used more electronic sound for The E.N.D. and The Beginning. Music Career 'Atban Klann' In High School, he became best friends with Allan Pineda Lindo (better known as Apl.de.ap). They joined a group named "Atban Klann" ("A Tribe Beyond a Nation" Klann), along with Mookie Mook, Monroe Walker (better known as DJ Motiv8) & Dante Santiago. They signed a record with Ruthless Records, owned by Eazy-E, in 1992. While in Atban Klann, Will.i.am name was still Will 1X. After their debut on Eazy-E's EP, 5150: Home 4 tha Sick track "Merry Muthaphuckkin' Xmas" they recorded their debut album, Grass Roots which was to be released on October 6, 1992. However, it was shelved shortly before its released due to Eazy-E's death in 1995. Soon after, they left the label. 'The Black Eyed Peas' After Eazy-E died in 1995, they reformed and changed Atban Klann, to "Black Eyed Pods", and then to "Black Eyed Peas". Dante Santiago was replaced with Jaime Gomez (better known as Taboo), and Kim Hill became a steady background singer. After being signed to Interscope Records they released their debut album, Behind the Front in 1998, earning them critical acclaim. In 2000, they released their second album was Bridging the Gap, featuring the single "Request + Line" with Macy Gray. When they prepared for their next album, will.i.am searched a female singer to record "Shut Up". Nicole Scherzinger was originally approached to join the Peas, but was forced to decline since she was a member of Eden's Crush and was under contract. Dante Santiago introduced will.i.am to Fergie and he invited her to record the song. She instantly bonded with the trio, and recorded five additional songs on the album. Shortly before Elephunk came out, Interscope chairman Jimmy Lovine offered Fergie to join Black Eyed Peas in 2002 which she accepted. Before recording "Where is The Love?", Fergie introduced Justin Timberlake to the Peas. Impressed, Timberlake help the Peas by recording the chorus. However, in an interview with TalkofFame.com, Taboo shared that Justin Timberlake's split with Britney Spears impacted the recording of "Where Is The Love?". The single became their first major hit, and the group also received their first grammy nomination. The Black Eyed Pea's third album Elephunk began development on November 2, 2001, but was not released until 2003. It was the first album that indicated and demonstrated the new, polished pop sound designed to attract mass audiences and also the first under the name "THE Black Eyed Peas". The album subsequently spawned "Shut Up", which topped the charts in many success and went Gold and Platinum in the U.S., UK, Germany, and other European markets. The third single from the album, "Hey Mama" hit the charts and received even more exposure in 2003 when it was featured in the first "silhouette" television commercial for the iPod. Their fourth single from the album was titled "Let's Get It Started", originally "Let's Get Retarded", won a 2005 Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and also received two nominations for Record of the Year and Best Rap Song. In 2004, The Black Eyed Peas embarked on the Elephunk Tour, hitting many countries in Europe and Asia. Their fourth album, Monkey Business, was released on June 7, 2005. The album's first single, "Don't Phunk with My Heart", was a hit and reached the highest peak yet of their career in the U.S. and earned them another Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. "Don't Lie", the second single from the album, saw success in the U.S. and Australia. "My Humps", immediately achieved commercial success worldwide and won The Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group. The Monkey Business itself debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, selling over 295,000 copies in its first week and was later certified triple platinum by the RIAA. Their next and last commercially-released single from the album was "Pump It", and peaked at number 8. The group's fifth studio album, The E.N.D. ("The Energy Never Dies"), was released on June 9, 2009. The first single "Boom Boom Pow" was sold 465,000 downloads in its first week of digital release, the third-largest number of download sales in a single week overall, and the largest single-week and debut-download totals by a group in the history of digital-download sales, became the group's first U.S. No. 1, holding the spot for twelve consecutive weeks. It also reached number 1 in Australia, Canada, and the UK. The song won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. The Black Eyed Peas released "I Gotta Feeling" as the official second single from the album. It was produced by David Guetta. The song debuted at number 2, replacing "Boom Boom Pow" #1 spot on the US Billboard Hot 100. The Black Eyed Peas joined a very elite group of artists who have held the No.1 and 2 Spot on the Hot 100 simultaneously. They topped the chart for 26 weeks, more consecutive weeks than any other artist. The song also won Grammy Award for the Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group. Three more singles, "Imma Be", "Alive", and "Meet Me Halfway", were released through the iTunes Store in the three weeks running up to the album's release. In its first week, the album sold 304,000 copies and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. The album has spent 38 weeks within the top 10 of the Billboard 200. The E.N.D. was the 7th best-selling album of 2009 in the U.S. It also debuted at number one in Australia, number two in New Zealand and three in the United Kingdom. On June 6, 2010, the band confirmed that they were working on a new album in an interview for The Big Issue. The album would be titled The Beginning and was released on November 30, 2010. The album's first single, "The Time (Dirty Bit)", and was revealed on October 20, 2010 through will.i.am's Twitter account. The Music Video was directed by Rich Lee,who had previously directed the video for "Imma Be Rocking That Body". The single became the group's most viewed video on YouTube, which in April 2011 scored 100,000,000 views and topped some international charts, including UK, Australia, German and New Zealand. "Just Can't Get Enough" was confirmed as the second single on BlackEyedPeas.com on January 11 and was released in February 18, 2011. The music video was released in March 16, 2011 and it was filmed in Tokyo, one week before the earthquake and the tsunami, directed by Ben Mor. 'Solo Career' Will.i.am released his first full length album, Lost Change in October 2, 2001 on Atlantic Records, which is the first of a number of solo releases from Black Eyed Peas members. A music video was made for the song, "I Am", however, no singles were released from the album. The track "Money" was later re-worked and re-titled "Spending Money" and was released on his 3rd album, Songs About Girls. Must B 21 is the second studio album released by will.i.am., released on September 23, 2003, marked will.i.am's last release as a solo artist for over four years, until his third album Songs About Girls was released in late 2007. "I'm Ready" was later re-worked to become The Black Eyed Peas smash-hit Let's Get Retarded. However, like past album, there was no single released. Songs About Girls is the third studio album by will.i.am., originally titled "Keep the Beeper". The album was released on September 25, 2007. The first single, "I Got It From My Mama" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #93 and peaked at #31. The Second Single, "Heartbreaker" was released on May 5, 2008. It was peaked #4 at UK Singles Chart and #7 on Ireland. The third and final single was "One More Time", released on August 4, 2008. In 2011, will.i.am released the promotional singles "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)" which featured Jennifer Lopez & Mick Jagger, and "Great Times". The following year, he released the single "This Is Love" featuring Eva Simons, for his upcoming album, which became his first solo single to top the charts in the UK. The song reached the top-ten in 17 countries worldwide, whilst reaching number one in 10 of those. After that he was featured in "Hall Of Fame" by the Script, and made a song dedicated to NASA called "Reach for the Stars". Will.i.am's next single was an even greater success. It was titled "Scream & Shout" and featured Britney Spears. The song was a worldwide hit, charting in over 35 countries, and selling over 3 million copies in the U.S. alone. "Scream & Shout" became will.i.am's most popular song of all time. His fourth studio album #willpower, originally titled "Black Einstein" was released on April 19, 2013. The album did well in several countries and sold nearly 500,000 copies worldwide. Several other singles were released afterwards including "#thatPOWER" featuring Justin Bieber, "Fall Down" featuring Miley Cyrus, and "Feeling Myself" featuring Miley Cyrus, French Montana and Wiz Khalifa. Other notable songs included "Bang Bang" which was featured in The Great Gatsby movie soundtrack, and "Gettin' Dumb" featuring fellow band member apl.de.ap and South Korean girl group 2NE1. Acting Career Will.i.am first started acting with The Black Eyed Peas in the commercial of "Instant Def" to advertise Snickers. He starred in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa as the voice of Moto Moto. In 2009, will.i.am played John Wraith in his major film debut, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a prequel to the X-Men film series. He also guest starred on the CBS drama Joan of Arcadia as God, one of several actors who played this role during the series. He also starred in the 2011, animated film Rio, and like Madagascar 2, he contributed his singing voice to the film's soundtrack, along with his fellow co-stars. Will.i.am played a fathering role in The Urbz: Sims In The City, which uses The Black Eyed Peas' songs as its soundtrack. He briefly played himself in the Tina Fey and Steve Carell Comedy Date Night. Other 'Fashion' Will.i.am attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. He began designing his own signature clothing line, i.am, which made its official debut in 2005 at the Magic Apparel Trade Show in Las Vegas. In 2007, will.i.am teamed up with Blue Holdings to design a premium denim collection, i.am Antik, that was scheduled to debut in August 2007 at the Project Show in Las Vegas. will.i.am instead has new partners and is launching i.am. 'Health' According to an interview with the British tabloid The Sun, will.i.am says he suffers from Tinnitus. The disorder, which is common among musicians who've been exposed to loud music for prolonged periods of time is characterised by ringing or buzzing in the ears. are composed almost entirely of excerpts from Obama's speech on January 8, 2008, following the New Hampshire presidential primary election. On February 29, 2008, a second video, "We Are the Ones", was released on Dipdive and YouTube. Including cameo appearances from Jessica Alba, Ryan Phillippe, Kerry Washington, pop punk band Yellowcard's front man, Ryan Key, John Leguizamo, Regina King, Tyrese Gibson, Eric Mabius, Tichina Arnold, Adrianne Palicki, comedian George Lopez, and singers Macy Gray, Zoe Kravitz and The Black Eyed Peas' Taboo, the video features everyone chanting "O-BA-MA" as a portrayal as their hopes and wishes for Barack Obama and his presidential campaign. After the 2008 election, will.i.am released "It's a New Day". The video reflects on the historical events that led to the election of the first African-American president and the public's reaction to his election. The video features celebrities such as Fergie, Olivia Wilde, Kanye West, Harold Perrineau, Kevin Bacon, and his wife Kyra Sedgwick. The video first debuted on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The track also appears on the 2009 compilation album, Change is Now: Renewing America's Promise. In honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama as president, will.i.am collaborated with producer David Foster on the patriotic song "America's Song", with contributing vocals from Seal, Bono, Mary J. Blige, and Faith Hill. Featured vocals External link *will.i.am official website *i.am.clothing website *will.i.am on Twitter *will.i.am channel on YouTube *will.iam on Dipdive Category:Bios Category:Black Eyed Peas Member